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CRIME

Justice minister rejects driving ban for criminals

Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger has dismissed a plan by state counterparts to introduce driving bans for convicted criminals, media reported Wednesday.

Justice minister rejects driving ban for criminals

State justice ministers have floated the idea of including suspensions of drivers’ licences as punishment alongside fines and prison sentences for people convicted of crimes, irrespective of whether the crime involved a car.

Daily Bild reported that the ministers wanted to discuss a driving ban of up to two years at a meeting in Hamburg on Thursday.

But Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger told the paper on Wednesday that such a system would be difficult to enforce and an inconsistent way of meting out punishment.

“It may become very expensive and complicated, in every individual case, to control whether a driving ban is being adhered to,” she said.

She also pointed out that it could affect job prospects for people who had a conviction.

“People who rely on their cars for work would have to fear for their job. They would be affected more severely than someone on a higher income who can afford a taxi,” she said.

Under present laws, a ban on driving can only be imposed as an additional punishment, when a car was involved in the crime, such as being used as a getaway car.

But the states, led by Lower Saxony Justice Minister Bernd Busemann, want to make the licence suspension available to courts as a punishment irrespective of whether a car was involved in the crime.

Bavarian Justice Minister Beate Merk told Bild: “There are criminals, who are barely influenced by fines or custodial sentences. A driving ban is often more effective there.”

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BUSINESS

Elon Musk visits Tesla’s sabotage-hit German factory

Elon Musk travelled Wednesday to Tesla's factory near Berlin to lend his workers "support" after the plant was forced to halt production by a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines.

Elon Musk visits Tesla's sabotage-hit German factory

The Tesla CEO addressed thousands of employees on arrival at the site, accusing “eco-terrorists” of the sabotage as he defended his company’s green credentials.

With his son X AE A-XII in his arms, Musk said: “I am here to support you.”

The billionaire’s visit came a week after power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s only European plant were set on fire in an act of sabotage claimed by a far-left group called the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group).

READ ALSO: Far-left group claims ‘sabotage’ on Tesla’s German factory

Musk had said then that the attack was “extremely dumb”, while the company said it would cost it several hundred million euros.

A week on, the lights have come back on at the site, but Andre Thierig, who heads the site, said on LinkedIn that it would “take a bit of time” before production is back to full speed.

Industry experts have warned that the reputational impact caused by the sabotage on the region could be more severe than the losses suffered by Tesla.

Tesla’s German plant started production in 2022 following an arduous two-year approval and construction process dogged by administrative and legal obstacles.

Tesla wants to expand the site by 170 hectares and boost production up to one million vehicles annually to feed Europe’s growing demand for electric cars and take on rivals who are shifting away from combustion engine vehicles.

But the plans have annoyed local residents, who voted against the project in a non-binding ballot last month.

After the vote, Tesla said it might have to rethink the plans. Environmental activists opposed to the expansion of the factory have recently also set up a camp in a wooded area near the plant.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

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